24 Tuesday Mar 2015
Posted in Art, Design, Food, Photography
≈ Comments Off on Tea Time…
Teacup in acrylic © Joan Currie
The Tea Party
I had a little tea party
This afternoon at three.
‘Twas very small-
Three guests in all –
Just I, myself and me.
Myself ate all the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea;
‘Twas also I who ate the pie
And passed the cake to me.
By Jessica Nelson North (1891-1988)
A lovely cup of tea punctuates the day…
16 Sunday Jun 2013
Posted in Art, Food, Photography, Reflections, Relationships
Tags
Date squares, Father's Day, Grief process, Photography, Ten Things to help with the early grieving process
Niagara-on-the-Lake © James Currie
A tsunami of grief swept over me after my beloved Dad died this past February. In the months that followed I struggled to make sense of his passing and, although I still cannot, several activities helped me move toward a sense of acceptance and celebration of the time we did have together. I hope the following list helps someone who may be in a similar situation:
Ten things that helped me through the early grieving process: I…
1. Comforted my daughters who were struggling with my father’s absence as much as I.
2. Connected and reconnected with family members and friends who knew my Dad. They told me many wonderful stories that I had not heard before.
3. Searched through my family photos for some father-daughter images to frame and put on my laptop and iphone screen savers.
4. Read letters and postcards that I received from him when I was a child. I had forgotten he used to call me “Honey.”
5. Edited my telephone messages. I found a message where he called me by name and realized that listening to it is the only way I will ever hear him say my name again!
6. Engaged in repetitive activities such as walking (lots of walking), sudoku and solitaire games, and knitting.
7. Created art – sketching, doodling, digital photography, painting, and sculpture.
8. Listened to music – not soft, soulful songs but strong, energetic tunes by such artists as The Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
9. Kept a journal – wrote about my Dad and how to make the time I have left on the planet more meaningful.
10. Baked his favorite desserts – apple pie and date squares.
You may like this past post about Ten Things My Father Taught Me.
05 Friday Oct 2012
Posted in America's Next Top Model, Fashion, Food, Photography, Reflections
© Khrystyna Kazakova
Oysters on the half shell, arranged on a large platter of shaved ice, one by one polish the woman’s tongue with silken saltiness. – from A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman
Preparing for a weekend of sampling delicious exotic cuisine…
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01 Friday Jun 2012
Posted in Design, Food, Photography, Reflections, Relationships, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Loving again and again…
© Joan Currie
If thou must love me, let it be for naught
Except for love’s sake only. Do not say,
‘I love her for her smile – her look – her way
Of speaking gently, – for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day’ –
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee – and love,
so wrought.
from If Though Must Love Me by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Surely after all these years our love is transcendent.
26 Saturday May 2012
Posted in Food, Photography, Reflections, Relationships
≈ Comments Off on Tea for Two…
© Joan Currie
Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage. – Catherine Douzel
I loved our afternoon teas together.
18 Sunday Dec 2011
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Food, Photography, Reflections
Tags
A Holly Jolly Christmas, Art, Baking, beautiful, Christmas, Christmas baking, Crafts, Gingerbread House, Michael Bublé, Norman Vincent Peale, postaweek 2011
Have a holly, jolly Christmas,
It’s the best time of the year,
I don’t know if there’ll be snow,
But have a cup of cheer.
A Holly Jolly Christmas by Johnny Marks – sung by Michael Bublé
Voilà – this year’s gingerbread house thanks to very thick royal frosting!
Photo: James Currie
29 Tuesday Nov 2011
Posted in Art, Design, Food, Reflections
≈ Comments Off on Pear Yellow…
Tags
Art, beautiful, Christina Rossetti, Pear, Poetry, watercolor
What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
from Color by Christina Rossetti
A pear – my favorite shape of late.
Watercolor © Joan Currie
21 Monday Nov 2011
Posted in Food, Photography, Reflections, Writing
© Joan Currie
A wagon stopped before the house; she heard
The heavy oilskins of the grocer’s man
Slapping against his legs. Of a sudden whirred
Her heart like a frightened partridge, and she ran
And slid the bolt, leaving his entrance free;
Sonnets from an Ungrafted Tree by Edna St. Vincent Millay
My table is laden with the fecundity of the season.
08 Sunday May 2011
Posted in Art, Dance, Food, Photography, Reflections, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Ten Beautiful Things My Mother Taught Me…
Tags
beautiful, Mother's Day, Photography, postaweek 2011, Ten Things My Mother Taught Me, Tribute to my Mother
I never look back – life is too short. – My Mother
1. The basic ballroom dance steps at a very young age so that I would always feel at home on the dance floor.
2. Lyrics to practically every big band and show tune.
3. How to throw a large party and be a great hostess.
4. A glass half-full attitude that included not dwelling on the past and appreciating the here and now.
5. How to sketch, draw, and compose photographs.
6. The correct way to apply lipstick, eyeliner, and false eyelashes.
7. How to bake, especially pies, bundt cakes, and butter tarts.
8. A love of the written word – how to type, write copy, read a literary novel, and recite poetry.
9. How to finesse a trick in bridge and win at gin rummy.
10. How to pack for a trip, including – take your own brand of teabags wherever you go to ensure that you will always have a good cup of tea.
Thanks, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!
23 Sunday Jan 2011
Posted in Art, Design, Food, Photography, Reflections, Writing
≈ Comments Off on 101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 3…
Tags
101 List, beautiful, Beauty, Photography, postaweek2011, Self-help, Stanford University, Word list, Words
© Joan Currie - Stanford University
Continued…
68. Take a class at an art, architecture, or design school.
69. Skip a stone.
70. Sing a camp fire song.
71. Send good wishes to someone in ill health.
72. Take a self-portrait.
73. Hug your loved ones.
74. Sing in the car.
75. Watch a fountain.
76. Look up the origin of words.
77. Greet passersby with a hello and a smile.
78. Post children’s art in your home – you may even rediscover your own schoolwork.
79. Reconnect with a former classmate.
80. Attend birthday parties.
81. Learn how to snowshoe.
82. Fly high in a hot air balloon, glider, or small plane.
83. Teach a child how to bake a cake.
84. Give a massage.
85. Have a picnic.
86. Watch all Academy Award Best Picture nominees for the current year.
87. Indulge in a bubble bath.
88. Sleep under an eiderdown.
89. Use fabric napkins.
90. Attend book readings at your local bookstore or library.
91. Host a family celebration.
92. Become a possibilities thinker.
93. Watch a moonrise or eclipse.
94. Assist someone who is disabled.
95. Grow a vegetable or herb from seed.
96. Watch Cirque du Soleil.
97. Try yoga.
98. Perform an act of courage.
99. Roast marshmallows over an open fire.
100. Become the person you always wanted to be.
101. Wish upon a star!
I would love to know what you would add to this list!
